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Briar Cliff University: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

Fair Price Value for Your Money
6% Student Loan Default Rate

Briar Cliff University is a private not-for-profit institution in Sioux City, Iowa enrolling 624 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 48%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,301 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 25%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is Briar Cliff University Ranked?

Briar Cliff University ranks #1,301 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 25%.

#1,301 Best Colleges in Nation
#28 Best Colleges in IA
Briar Cliff University ranking badge

2027 Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

Overall Quality

Briar Cliff is ranked #1,301 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.

Within the state, Briar Cliff holds the #28 spot on the Best Colleges in Iowa ranking.

See all of the rankings for Briar Cliff University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Briar Cliff University?

Acceptance Rate

Learn more about Briar Cliff University admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Briar Cliff University?

10 to 1 Student to Faculty
63% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

At Briar Cliff, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 10 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Briar Cliff University is 63%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  63 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Briar Cliff University?

64% Freshmen Retention
48% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Briar Cliff University is 64%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  64 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Briar Cliff the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 48%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  48 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Briar Cliff University.

How Diverse Is Briar Cliff University?

624 Undergraduate Students
24.5% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
49.9% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 624 undergraduates at Briar Cliff.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Briar Cliff University.

How Much Does Briar Cliff University Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
48% Take Out Loans
$34,708 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Briar Cliff is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for Briar Cliff

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$17,764 $14,604 $25,516 $30,156 $27,328

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Briar Cliff, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Briar Cliff, approximately 48% of students took out student loans averaging $8,677 a year. That adds up to $34,708 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 5.7%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Briar Cliff University.

How Much Do Briar Cliff University Graduates Earn?

$54,475 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Briar Cliff University make about $54,475 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future Briar Cliff University graduates since it is 11% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for Briar Cliff University Graduates

See which majors at Briar Cliff University make the most money.

Where Is Briar Cliff University Located?

Iowa State
624 Undergraduate Students
Small City Campus Setting

Briar Cliff University is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Sioux City, Iowa. Sioux City is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Briar Cliff University.

Location of Briar Cliff University

Contact information for Briar Cliff University are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 3303 Rebecca Street, Sioux City, IA 51104
Phone: 7122795200
Website: www.briarcliff.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briar_Cliff_University
Facebook: www.facebook.com/briarcliffuniversity
Twitter: twitter.com/briar_cliff

What Majors Does Briar Cliff University Offer?

18 Majors With Completions
484 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 18 majors graduated from Briar Cliff University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 242 NA
Nursing 39 $54,009
Business Administration & Management 38 $45,043
Rehabilitation Professions 31 NA
Health & Physical Education 23 NA
Social Work 21 $25,406
General Psychology 10 NA
General Biology 9 NA
Marketing 9 NA
Criminal Justice & Corrections 9 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at Briar Cliff University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does Briar Cliff Offer Online Classes?

31% Take At Least One Class Online
13% Take All Classes Online

191 students took at least one online class at Briar Cliff University.

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

Learn more about online learning at Briar Cliff University.

Interested in comparing Briar Cliff? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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